UK robotic process automation technology developer Blue Prism (PRSM:AIM) is mulling a US stock market listing for its shares in a drive to narrow the yawning valuation gap with privately-owned US peers.

The Warrington-based company admitted earlier this month that it had begun exploring the possibility of a US listing, although no decision has so far been made.

‘A prospective US secondary listing will likely catalyse the closure of the existing discount to the BVP Nasdaq Emerging Cloud index,’ says Investec analyst Roger Phillips. ‘This index sits on 14.6 times average next 12 months enterprise value to sales (12.7-times median) versus Blue Prism on 10.4 times FY21 estimates.’

In particular, having a listing in the US alongside the UK-quoted shares would potentially help close the huge valuation gap that has opened between Blue Prism and its key peers UiPath and Automation Anywhere.

At £14.45 per share, Blue Prism commands a £1.36 billion market value. That implies 13.4 times last year’s £101 million revenue, or 9.5 times the forecast £143 million for the year ended 31 October 2020.

According to Wikibon data, privately-owned UiPath and Automation Anywhere have been valued at between of 20 and 27 times 2019 revenues of $350 million and $250 million respectively.

There is speculation that UiPath could soon float on a stock market, commanding a $15 billion valuation.

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